News

2009-05-21 13:25:42.133

O'Fallon Man Wins $100,000 Prize; Third Win in One Year

An O’Fallon man has plans to treat his entire family after winning the Missouri Lottery for the third time in one year. John Bernosky, 41, most recently took home the $100,000 top prize on a "$100,000 Payday" Scratchers ticket, but he is not new to the idea of winning.

"Almost a year to this day, I won $10,000 on "$4 Million Cash Bonanza," he revealed. "And a week and a half ago I won $1,000."

According to Bernosky, a stay-at-home father of two, he knew his prize was going to be "big" when he started scratching his ticket at Deer Run Quick Mart, 1322 N. Main in O’Fallon, on May 17.

"I bought a $10 ticket and two $5 tickets," he said. "On the second ticket it was a five times $20,000. Usually, when I hit five times before, it was for $25."

The first person to learn of Bernosky’s win was the person that sold him the ticket, a Deer Run Quick Mart cashier.

"I told the cashier, her name is Karen, I said, ’Why don’t you come over when you have a second. I want to show you something,’" he said.

According to Bernosky, Karen was "more excited" for her regular customer than he was about the win.

After leaving the store, Bernosky called his wife Wendy who was with their two children at the St. Louis Museum.

"She didn’t believe me at first," he noted. "When she came home, I showed her the ticket, and she was pretty excited. My 5-year-old really can’t comprehend it. He just knew that dad won some money, but my 10-year-old was pretty excited. We’re actually going to Six Flags."

In addition to a trip to Six Flags, Bernosky has specific plans for the rest of the prize money.

"I’m going to share it with my mom and dad," he explained. "Other than that, probably just put it in savings and go down to the lake. We’re big boating people. So it’s going to help out paying for gas for the boat."

"$100,000 Payday," a $5 game with a top prize of $100,000, officially began on March 28.

Non-winning "$100,000 Payday" tickets can be entered in the Missouri Lottery’s "Get Cruisin’" promotion, which offers players a chance to win a backyard redesign, vehicles, cruises, cash and more.